Insider Buying: Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Director Buys 400 Shares of Stock

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $1.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $265.92. 1,265,185 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,264,376. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $246.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $75.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.94 and a fifty-two week high of $268.00.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.65 dividend. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.